Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Trees: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government which species of tree are currently prohibited from being moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for planting in Northern Ireland.

Lord Douglas-Miller: All information on high-risk plants, including the latest information on the plants’ dossiers and those where the bans have been lifted, can be found at the ‘Plant Portal’ on gov.uk. The Government continues to proactively engage with industry to understand where further action is needed and prepare and submit dossiers for scientific assessment. Through the Windsor Framework, we have already lifted the ban on the most urgent eleven priority species, these being European beech, English oak, Sessile oak, Norway Maple, Japanese maple, Sycamore maple, Field Maple, Crab apple, Common apple, Hawthorn and two types of privet (wax leaf and delavey). The ban on common hazel will be lifted soon, which will be followed by another seven species that industry has prioritised. We will continue to work with industry to identify further species as needed.

Agriculture: Employment

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the number of (1) farmers, and (2) their direct employees, for the latest date for which figures are available.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Farmers are defined here as full time and part time principal farmers, business partners, directors and spouses. All other agricultural workers are defined here as regular employees, salaried managers and casual workers who were working on the holding on 1 June 2023. Agricultural workforce in England in 2023  2023 Farmers178,696 All other agricultural workers113,705 Total agricultural workforce292,401  Notes(a) Commercial holdings are those registered with the Rural Payments Agency for payments or livestock purposes and with significant levels of farming activity (as recorded in responses to the Defra June Survey of Agriculture or the Cattle Tracing System). Holdings are only included if they have more than five hectares of agricultural land, one hectare of orchards, 0.5 hectares of vegetables or 0.1 hectares of protected crops, or more than 10 cows, 50 pigs, 20 sheep, 20 goats or 1,000 poultry. Full data series for agricultural workforce are published here for England. A copy is attached to this answer. Similar figures for the UK are available at gov.uk.Agricultural Workforce, England  (xlsx, 52.4KB)

Sanitary Products: Safety

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety of the use of silver in period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, in the light of concerns among the scientific community regarding the safety of the wearer and environmental impacts, particularly on aquatic life.

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take action to prevent the unnecessary use of additives and antimicrobial substances in period products claiming ‘anti-odour’ or ‘antimicrobial’ properties.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The UK has a comprehensive regulatory framework in place to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market. Period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, are regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. This provides a baseline of safety for applicable products, requiring that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, can be placed on the market. The law places obligations on producers, manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure consumers are provided with safety information, including instructions for safe use. This includes risks that are not immediately obvious to consumers without adequate warnings, such as the use of additives and antimicrobial substances and the presence of silver in these products. Period products are not classed as biocidal products under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation but are instead articles which contain or are treated with a biocidal product (such as a silver compound). A number of silver active substances are currently waiting to be assessed for safety and efficacy as biocides under the GB review programme of existing active substances. While this is the case they can be legally used in treated articles including period products. Defra continues to monitor research on chemicals in period products as part of the UK REACH Work Programme, working closely with the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. This ongoing work covers all risks, including those relating to aquatic life. Studies carried out in the EU found that the chemicals identified in these products were present only in low concentrations, with no evidence of significant risks to human health.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gaza: British Nationals Abroad

Baroness Warsi: To ask His Majesty's Government how many British citizens are currently in Gaza; and what steps they are taking to assist (1) British citizens, and (2) immediate family members of British citizens, who are trapped in Gaza.

Baroness Warsi: To ask His Majesty's Government how manyBritish-Palestinian nationals have been included in their evacuation list from Gaza; and how many have been successfully repatriated to the United Kingdom.

Baroness Warsi: To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) British-Palestinian citizens, and (2) Palestinians with a right to remain in the United Kingdom, are currently trapped in Gaza.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have helped to support over 315 British nationals, their dependants and relevant visa holders to leave Gaza so far. A small number remain. There may be others who have not sought our help and we understand that others have left without our assistance.We have been working with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to try and ensure remaining British nationals and other eligible persons, as set out in our Travel Advice, who seek our support to leave Gaza are cleared to cross as soon as possible.The UK government has also been working with partners across the region to secure the release of hostages, including British nationals and their families.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the possibility of a new United Nations, African Union or other regional peacekeeping force in Sudan.

Lord Benyon: Neither the UN nor the African Union have suggested peacekeeping as a suitable response to Sudan's conflict at this stage. The UK Government's main objectives remain to pursue all diplomatic avenues to end the violence in Sudan, improving humanitarian access and addressing human rights violations carried out by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces. We continue to work closely with the UN, African Union and with counterparts from African and Gulf states as well as our closest allies to achieve these aims, which our partners share.

Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the impact of communications blackouts on humanitarian operations, including in (1) Sudan, and (2) Gaza.

Lord Benyon: The UK strongly condemns the blackouts in Sudan and calls for an immediate resumption of telecommunications and internet connectivity. The blackouts make it even more difficult for the world to see what is happening in Sudan. They also exacerbate the humanitarian crisis, as millions of people rely on online payments for food and other essentials. We are also deeply concerned about the severely damaged telecommunications and internet networks in Gaza, which are causing repeated near total communications blackouts. This is limiting the ability of Palestinians in Gaza to communicate and greatly hampers the humanitarian response. Officials are in regular contact with Paltel, the leading telecommunications company in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We recognise the strenuous efforts of Paltel's staff in Gaza to make repairs and maintain services, at great risk to themselves.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to the government of Sudan to prevent or limit atrocities, and protect civilians, while hostilities in that country continue.

Lord Benyon: Our senior diplomats have used meetings with senior decision-makers in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other groups to raise concerns about credible reports of human rights violations and to push the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire, engage in a meaningful peace process, and grant immediate humanitarian access. The UK is also funding open-source investigation experts to use satellite imagery and social media to verify and preserve information relating to attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Sudan: Human Rights

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) funding, and (2) other support, the UK has provided to the United Nations Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan.

Lord Benyon: The Fact-Finding Mission was established by a UK-led resolution at the 54th Session of the Human Rights Council. As an independent mechanism, the UN regular budget funds the mission, which rules out the option of providing UK extra-budgetary funding. The UK provided funds to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): £350,000 between March 2022 and November 2022, and £650,000 from January 2023 to December 2023 to support OHCHR's wider work on Sudan. We will continue to raise the situation in Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council.

Sudan: Weapons

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the flow of finance and weapons to Sudan in breach of international sanctions, and what steps they are taking to limit and prevent that flow.

Lord Benyon: The UK condemns any actions that fuel the conflict in Sudan and welcomes the findings of the UN Panel of Experts' report on external support in Darfur. The UK expects all countries to comply with existing UN sanctions and continues to work closely with partners at the UN Security Council to enforce these. On 12 July 2023, the Minister for Development and Africa announced sanctions on six Sudanese entities under the UK's Sudan (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. Our sanctions policy is continually under review.

Department for Transport

Railways: Bristol and Oxford

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government why the Great Western Railway trial on the service from Bristolto Oxford is limited to weekends and leisure travel, and notcommuter traffic.

Lord Davies of Gower: Great Western Railway has proposed to the Department for Transport a limited trial of extra direct services between Bristol and Oxford. The proposed trial is planned to take place between mid-September and mid-December 2024 and will be restricted to Saturdays. This coincides with the Bath Christmas market, which experiences increased demand for trips on Saturdays to and from Oxford and Bath, particularly during the busy Christmas season. The trial is only currently planned for weekends because during the week, the additional trains needed to run the services are already used on other commuter routes.

Railways: Finance

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the annual reporting on the Railway Enhancements Network Pipeline committed to in 2019 is to commence in 2024.

Lord Davies of Gower: Whilst the Government remains committed to investing in rail, as demonstrated by the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement which detailed an unprecedented number of commitments, significant changes to travel patterns after the pandemic and the challenging fiscal environment rightly require reconsideration of the rail infrastructure portfolio. We understand the interests of stakeholders - industry and local representatives - in the visibility of our forward programme of work. Moving forward we intend to review, with involvement from the supply chain, how best to provide updates on the rail enhancements portfolio.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given tomandating electric vehicle charging point accessibility standards to remove any economic disadvantages incurred through voluntary compliance by charge point operators.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Government is committed to ensuring that all electric vehicle drivers can easily find public chargepoints that they can use. The Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 1899 provides specifications on designing and installing accessible chargepoints. Compliance with PAS 1899 is currently voluntary. However, Government is actively encouraging local authorities, and other relevant parties, to incorporate accessibility into their procurement models, including through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. This £381 million fund will support local authorities to work with industry to ensure that the transition to EVs takes place in every part of the country. The Department will continue to monitor progress to assess whether further intervention is required, including through a 24-month review into implementation of PAS 1899, launched in December 2023 and led by the British Standards Institution.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Davies of Gower on 22 February (HL2450), whetherthe LEVI Fund can be used for the provision of lamp-post charging; and what standards they have set with electricity suppliers to facilitate the provision of those additional charging points.

Lord Davies of Gower: The £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, launched in March 2023, aims to deliver a step-change in the deployment of local, primarily low power on-street charging infrastructure across England. A condition of the LEVI Capital Fund is that the majority of project costs must be related to the installation of lower-powered infrastructure suitable for local charging, such as lamp column chargepoints. As part of their LEVI application, local authorities must provide evidence of engagement with their distribution network operator (DNO) regarding their proposed LEVI project. This allows DNOs to plan and maintain greater awareness of the need for grid upgrades. In the Plan for Drivers, Government committed to work with DNOs and key industry stakeholders on wider challenges to chargepoint rollout to overcome chargepoint installation barriers. This builds on the commitments and announcements in the DESNZ Connections Action Plan and Powering up Britain paper.

Airports: Railways

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with railway operators to avoid disruption such as occurred on 26 February on trains to Gatwick; what discussions they have held with airlines regarding compensation for those who may miss their flights as a result of rail disruption; and what steps they will take to avoid such scenarios in future.

Lord Davies of Gower: Unfortunately, Govia Thameslink Railway services were very heavily disrupted on the morning of 26 February by a number of Network Rail infrastructure incidents across the Sussex area. Network Rail, which is the organisation responsible for rail infrastructure, continues to work closely with train operators to improve how the industry responds to unplanned disruption. The Department monitors operational performance closely and engages with the rail industry at all levels which includes regular meetings on punctuality and reliability with both Network Rail and representatives from the train operators. Train operators do not offer compensation to passengers for missed flights and as such there have been no discussions between the Department and airlines on this matter. The Department would urge passengers to use the Delay Repay scheme for compensation on their rail journey and consider other claims using their own travel insurance.

Railways: Northolt

Lord Bradshaw: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reinstate direct access from Northolt Junction to Paddington.

Lord Davies of Gower: I can confirm there are no plans to reinstate direct access services from Northolt Junction to Paddington. Chiltern Railway used to run a twice daily service from Northolt Junction (i.e. South Ruislip Station) to London Paddington. In December 2018, this route was cancelled with the closure of the Acton-Northolt line to enable High Speed 2 works.

Railways: North of England

Lord Bradshaw: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Davies of Gower on 12 February (HL1979), when the train service specification for the TransPennine route was last revised and passed to Network Rail.

Lord Davies of Gower: A number of train service specifications were developed as part of the Business Case development process for TransPennine Route Upgrade. This was last provided to Network Rail in 2023 as part of a review of the integration between other major infrastructure programmes. The final train service specification has yet to be finalised and approved.

Railways: Compensation

Lord Bradshaw: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the performance of train operators to reduce the amount of money being paid under the Delay Repay scheme.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department monitors performance on the rail network closely and holds industry to account, reviewing performance on a weekly basis and holding regular high-level meetings with both Network Rail and representatives from the train operators. The Department has been clear that industry needs to make significant improvements to deliver the punctual, reliable services that passengers deserve and in doing so, reduce the need for passengers to claim under the Delay Repay scheme.

Railways: Standards

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to conduct a comparative assessment with other European nations on the state of rail services including on reliability, comfort and pricing.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department seeks to identify best practice from other countries’ rail networks but is not currently planning a formal comparative assessment.The latest Common Safety Indicators from the Office of Rail and Road, which were published 15 February 2024, showed that Great Britain ranks favourably compared with other European countries in terms of employee safety, level crossing user safety and trespasser safety.

Pedestrian Areas: Utilities

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government, furtherto the report commissioned by the Local Government AssociationThe path to inclusive footways, published on 10 February, what steps they are taking to ensure utilities providers pay for reinstatement works where they have caused disruption to footways.

Lord Davies of Gower: Utility companies have a right to access footways to carry out works to maintain or install their infrastructure, including to roll-out broadband. Companies must reinstate the footway after the works have been completed in line with the statutory code of practice, ‘the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways’ (SROH). Highway authorities have the power to direct utility companies to carry out remedial works at the utility company’s expense if they identify reinstatements that do not meet the standards in the code. They can also fine companies for works that overrun. As part of the plan for drivers we are consulting on measures to increase the rate of fixed penalty notices for some street work offences and extend charges for utility companies whose works overrun to include weekends and bank holidays. We have also introduced a new performance-based inspections regime which means authorities can inspect utility companies with high rates of defects in their reinstatements more than those who comply with the SROH.

Pedestrian Areas: Finance

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government whatproportion of highway funding is spent on footways.

Lord Davies of Gower: This information is not held. In England local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highway network in their area, including footways. Further information and best practice on the Well-managed Highway infrastructure Code of Practice is available from the UK Roads Leadership Group. Based on previous research, the Department estimates that on average local highway authorities spend around 9% of their highway maintenance budgets on maintaining footways.Well-managed Highway infrastructure Code of Practi (pdf, 1922.1KB)

Cars: UK Internal Trade

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government whether cars moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for sale are subject to any compliance, documentary or other requirements as a result of the Windsor Framework, and, if so, when such requirements began to apply.

Lord Davies of Gower: There are no checks for compliance when cars move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Bus Services

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of (1)rural bus services in England, and (2)the effectiveness of the Bus Services Act 2017 in improving services.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Government's approach to improving bus services in England, including those in rural areas, is set out in the National Bus Strategy. We have announced more than £4.5 billion of funding for buses in England outside of London since 2020,  including:o The recently announced £1 billion of funding redirected from HS2 to deliver better buses across the North and the Midlands as part of Network North;o Over £1 billion allocated in 2022 to help LTAs deliver their BSIPs;o £300 million in ongoing funding to support and improve services until April 2025;o Nearly £600 million to cap single bus fares at £2 from 1 January 2023 until the end of 2024; ando £2 billion between March 2020 and June 2023 to prevent reductions to bus services following the pandemic. The Bus Services Act 2017 was accompanied by a suite of regulations to provide Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) outside London with powers to improve local bus services. These included enhanced partnerships (EPs) between bus operators and LTAs, and automatic franchising powers to all Mayoral Combined Authorities. 73 LTAs now have an EP in place and Greater Manchester expect to have a fully franchised bus network by March 2025.   The Bus Services Act 2017 also focused on introducing the Bus Open Data Service (BODS). The BODS was launched in 2020, and requires all bus operators of local services in England to open up high-quality, accurate and up-to-date bus service information including timetables, fares, tickets & vehicle location information.   The Bus Services Act 2017 also amended the Equality Act 2010 to enable the Government to introduce ‘Accessible Information Regulations’ as part of its commitment to creating an inclusive transport system. These regulations were introduced in 2023, which by Autumn 2026 will require the majority of local bus and coach services to incorporate audible and visible announcements as standard.   The Department is conducting a monitoring and evaluation exercise on the impact of the National Bus Strategy. The Bus Transformation Evaluation assesses the delivery and impact of Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) introduced by the 33 LTAs that received Phase 1 BSIP funding from the Department under the National Bus Strategy. A draft interim report is expected by summer 2024. In addition, the Department is also conducting monitoring and evaluation of the Inclusive Transport Strategy 2018, which includes an assessment of the impact of accessibility requirements introduced under the Bus Services Act 2017 to provide audible and visible information on buses. The Inclusive Transport Strategy: Evaluation Baseline Report was published in January 2022 and the final report is expected to be published later this year.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Help to Buy Scheme

Lord Reid of Cardowan: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the closure of the Help to Buy scheme on the property market.

Baroness Swinburne: In line with the recommendation of the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee, the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has committed to undertaking an evaluation of the Help to Buy scheme, with a target date for publication of Autumn 2024. This will seek to investigate, amongst other matters, the effect of the Help to Buy scheme on the housing market within its lifetime and, where possible, after its closure.

Evictions

The Earl of Leicester: To ask His Majesty's Government how many section 21 eviction noticeswere recorded in England in(1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities does not hold data on the number of section 21 notices which are served by landlords.The prescribed form for serving a notice requiring possession under section 21 is published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/assured-tenancy-forms.Assured tenancy forms (pdf, 162.0KB)

Public Lavatories

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of cuts to local government funding since 2010 on the number of public toilets in the UK.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The final local government finance settlement for 2024 to 2025  makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This includes additional measures for local authorities in England worth £600 million that the Government announced between the provisional and final settlement. Local government will see a real-terms increase in Core Spending Power (the Government’s measure of funding available to local government) over the period 2019-20 to 2024-25.The majority of the funding provided through the Settlement is un-ringfenced, in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities, this includes responsibility for decisions regarding the provision and maintenance of public toilets.The Local government finance settlement  (pdf, 215.0KB)

Cabinet Office

Blood: Contamination

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the final compensation recommendations made bythe Infected Blood Inquiry in 2023,what plans they have to makeinterim payments to bereaved parents and children.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: First, and most importantly, the suffering of the victims must be recognised. The Government understands that no measures can fully compensate for the losses and hardships that they have suffered. The priority here must be to ensure that victims get the justice they deserve. We are actively looking at the recommendations of the Inquiry, including the recommendation for more interim payments. The Government will respond to the recommendations of the final report following its publication on 20 May.

Northern Ireland Protocol

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to providealist of the measures adopted by the EU within the scope of the Northern Ireland Protocolbetween January 2021 and July 2022, referred to in the paperNorthern Ireland Protocol: the UK’s Solution, published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 14 July 2022.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Windsor Framework disapplies swathes of EU rules that applied under the old Northern Ireland Protocol to support internal UK trade. It completely carves out whole areas of EU law on issues such as VAT, medicines and food. Those limited areas that remain apply principally in order to secure NI access to the EU market.

Windsor Framework

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to introduce legislation to direct Northern Ireland bodies regarding the UK internal market scheme in the operation of the Windsor Framework.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government will take direct powers at Westminster to direct NI bodies to protect the UK internal market as soon as parliamentary time allows. This will allow us to provide clear legal direction to DAERA and other UK Government authorities to eliminate any physical checks when goods move within the UK internal market system, except those conducted by UK authorities and required as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach.

Department for Business and Trade

Horizon IT System: Compensation

Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask His Majesty's Government on which department's accounts their commitment to fund compensation for sub-postmasters affected by issues arising from the Horizon software system appears.

Lord Offord of Garvel: Just over £1bn has been committed by Government to ensure postmasters are compensated fairly. This funding covers the three Horizon compensation schemes: the Overturned Convictions scheme, the Group Litigation Order Scheme, and the Horizon Shortfall Scheme. Funding is agreed by HM Treasury at the relevant Estimate on the basis of the Department for Business and Trade’s forecasts for compensation.A provision was made in the 2022/23 accounts of the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Provisions should not be seen as an indication of the total amount of money available for compensation or how much claimants will receive; they are an estimate based on the latest information available.The total discounted liability as at 31 March 2023 for sub-postmasters affected by issues arising from the Horizon software system was estimated at £600 million. This provision has subsequently transferred over to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and an updated value will be reflected in the department’s 2023-24 annual report and accounts to reflect policy announcements and changes since last years accounts.Provision values will not include compensation paid to date. Annual accounts are produced on an accruals basis and compensation payments are recognised on this basis.

Horizon IT System: Fujitsu

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to investigate whether Fujitsu staff had unauthorised access to the Post Office’s Horizon software system; and, if so, whether there have been any alleged cases of fraud or theft of Post Office funds by Fujitsu staff.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The independent Post Office Horizon Inquiry was set up – and put on a statutory footing - to review all the evidence to establish a clear account of the implementation and failings of Horizon so that a scandal like this does not happen again.Until Sir Wyn’s work is completed, and all the evidence is known, it would be premature for me to comment on every aspect of this scandal alongside this inquiry which is there to get to the bottom of the facts.

Horizon IT System

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total value of shortfalls claimed back by the Post Office from staff affected by issues with the Horizon software system.

Lord Offord of Garvel: We do not have an estimate. Postmasters who paid shortfalls which were recorded in Horizon to the Post Office are paid those amounts back in their compensation claims, as well as any other financial and personal damage which they have suffered as a consequence of the IT system. We have already made payments totalling £160m across all three compensation schemes.

Ministry of Defence

Army Reserve: Military Bases

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that a training barracks remains within a two-hour drive for members of the Army Reserve.

The Earl of Minto: The cohesive collective element is a key component of being part of the Reserve, and the Army is reviewing the Reserve Forces and Cadets Estate to ensure local hubs maintain a visible and accessible Army Reserve footprint. Travel distances are being assessed alongside wider considerations relating to output, the employment of Smarter Ways of Working and personal preferences including cap badge affiliation and specialist capabilities. As a Ministry of Defence asset, any changes to the Volunteer Estate would be made in consultation with all the Services, to enable alignment of strategic and fiscal priorities.

Nuclear Weapons

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government, following theHMS Vanguard Demonstration and Shakedown Operation which took place on 30 January, what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Trident nuclear deterrent.

The Earl of Minto: I refer the noble Lord to the Written Statement I laid in this House on 21 February, HLWS268.Nuclear Deterrent (docx, 28.6KB)

Department for Education

Schools: Concrete

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what examination support they are providing to school pupils whose studies have been disrupted as a result of their school being impacted by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Baroness Barran: Every school or college with confirmed RAAC has been assigned dedicated support from caseworkers and project delivery teams are also on hand to support with implementing mitigation plans.Every case is unique and the impact on schools and colleges can be varied. The department will work with schools and colleges to put in place a bespoke plan based on their circumstances. In some cases, there is no impact on teaching space or it is limited to small areas. For others, mitigation plans can include using other spaces on the school site or locally until building works are carried out or temporary buildings are installed.Alongside Ofqual, the department has also asked awarding organisations to be as flexible as possible within the confines of their processes and regulations, for example by agreeing longer extensions to coursework and non-exam assessment deadlines so that affected schools and colleges have as much time as possible to complete this important part of students' learning and qualifications. In the case of vocational and technical qualifications, it may be considering if students can take the assessment in a future assessment opportunity.Furthermore, students taking GCSE exams in 2024 will be provided with enhanced formulae and equation sheets so they will not need to memorise the usual formulae and equations for GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science, as they would in a normal year.

Department of Health and Social Care

Antibiotics

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thecase for reviewing the expiry dates of antibiotics, includingin respect ofsavings for public expenditure.

Lord Markham: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Government agency responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe, has not made an assessment on the case for reviewing the expiry dates of antibiotics.Medicine expiry dates, including for antibiotics, are necessary to ensure that the safety and effectiveness of a medicine is maintained over its long-term shelf life. The active ingredient in many medicines can degrade over time resulting in a loss of potency or the formation of impurities in the product. Physical changes to a medicine such as discolouration, may also occur upon prolonged storage. Medicine expiry dates are supported by stability studies completed by the pharmaceutical company, which demonstrate that a medicine remains safe and effective throughout its shelf life. Any change to the expiry date of a medicine requires an independent review of the stability data by the MHRA.Companies can and often do extend the shelf life of their medicines once the product is on the market, and as additional stability data become available. It is not possible, however, to extend the expiry date of all medicines unilaterally in the absence of supporting stability data.

Audiology: Paediatrics

Lord Addington: To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect all paediatric audiology services in England to be accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service's Improving Quality in Physiological Services scheme, and what plans they haveto increase accreditation of audiology services nationally.

Lord Markham: There is no NHS England national target set for when all services will be accredited, as the process for achieving accreditation for an individual service can take a number of years. NHS England recognises the United Kingdom Accreditation Service’s (UKAS) Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) scheme as the only recognised accreditation standard for physiological science services. This includes audiology services and provides not only independent and impartial assurance of safe, high-quality services, but also the evidence needed for the Care Quality Commission’s regulatory purposes. In August 2023, NHS England recommended that all integrated care boards ensure that provider organisations work towards the UKAS IQIPS accreditation for paediatric audiology.NHS England has worked with the UKAS to implement an updated process to support the early assessment of an individual site's readiness for achieving accreditation. NHS England is also working alongside the UKAS to support and enable more sites to successfully achieve accreditation. The 2024/25 National Health Service standard contract now includes the recommendation that all providers of paediatric audiology should work with their local commissioners to develop a Service Development Improvement Plan that will address the areas of quality concern, to allow all paediatric audiology services to move towards UKAS accreditation against the IQIPS standard.

Orthopaedics

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: To ask His Majesty's Government how many limb amputations were performed in NHS hospitals in (1) 2005, (2) 2010, (3) 2015, and (4) 2020, and what was the principal cause of these.

Lord Markham: A table showing the number of finished consultant episodes with a main or secondary procedure code for limb amputation, broken down by primary diagnosis group and the year of the operation, is attached due to the size of the data.Table for HL2879 - limb amputations (xlsx, 22.8KB)

Neurology: Health Services

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government why the scope of the Major Conditions Strategy does not include hundreds of neurological conditions.

Lord Markham: The Government announced a Major Conditions Strategy in January 2023, focusing on six groups of conditions that account for over 60% of ill health and early death in England. This has allowed us to look at similarities in approach across these conditions,and where there might be opportunities to ensure care is better centered around the patient. This means that many of the solutions identified in the final strategy may benefit patients and users of health and social care services beyond the six major condition groups, including neurological conditions. The Department has worked closely with a range of stakeholders to develop the strategy, including people with lived experience and organisations representing patients, carers, and conditions. This includes engagement with the Neurological Alliance.

Midwives

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impacts of endemic bullying of students and newly qualified midwives on (1) retention, and (2) the treatment of pregnant women, in the NHS, as highlighted in the #Saynotobullyinginmidwifery report published on 12 November 2023.

Lord Markham: Whilst no specific assessment has been made, the National Health Service takes bullying and harassment very seriously. All employers across the NHS should have a robust policy on bullying, outlining how it should be handled, and the support available to staff.In June 2023, NHS England published their Equality Diversity and Inclusion Improvement Plan which set out a series of high impact actions, including the requirement for NHS organisations to review data by protected characteristics on bullying, harassment, discrimination, and violence, and to develop plans to improve staff experience. This includes promoting environments where staff feel they are able to speak up and raise concerns.The plan also sets out the need for NHS organisations to provide psychological support to those who report that they have been a victim of bullying or harassment. NHS England has also developed an NHS Civility and Respect programme to tackle bullying and harassment in the NHS, and to create a culture of civility and respect.On retention, we have set a very ambitious target in the Long Term Workforce Plan to reduce the overall leaver rate. We are not starting from scratch and a lot of work has been done through the NHS People Plan and NHS People Promise, to make the NHS a better and more modern employer by improving leadership and workplace culture, supporting staff health and wellbeing, and tackling issues such as bullying, harassment and discrimination. We will continue to prioritise this through the NHS National Retention Programme.